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July 8, 2009
A slice of summertime heaven - the Sandy Bar Ranch!
I love the Sandy Bar Ranch! It's like a dude ranch for hippies - instead of horses and trail rides, here it's just simple, rustic cabins, a gorgeous organic farm and all in the wild heart of the Klamath-Siskiyou region.
What can you do here? Aside from enjoying the organic farm scenario and swimming in the Klamath river right outside your door, there is an embarassment of outdoorsy riches in this area. The Sandy Bar is right in the heart of the Klamath-Siskiyou wilderness complex and there are endless hiking opportunities here. In my opinion, and I've spent my life backpacking and hiking the West Coast, this is right up there among the premier hiking destinations of the West Coast - ok it's not as spectacular as the Central Sierra, the Olympics or the Big Sur coast, but for big wilderness with plenty of solitude, this area can't be beat.
And river freaks take note - the rivers here are world class, the very best on the entire West Coast. I'm not talking about the murky, warm-water mess known as the KIamath, I'm talking about the undammed, coldwater gems that flow into the Eel, Klamath, Rogue basins. If you're into deep, bouldery, cool, un-dammed, crystal clear rivers, the kind that wild salmon like, the Siskiyous are for you: The Illinois, Smith, Salmon. Mad. these are among my 3 favorite rivers anywhere, and I spend ridiculous amounts of time swimming and "researching" the rivers of the West Coast.
The cabins are $80 a night - affordable for regular folks like you and me - and you can pick all the organic raspberries you can eat and buy fresh produce from the organic farm
My little girl with the farm dog
The sauna at the Sandy Bar Ranch
Bloomer Falls river access on the Salmon River. This picture just doesn't do this swimming hole justice. I spend my life looking for sweet little swimming holes like this one, and this is one of the best driving accessible ones I've ever found! Deep, clear, cool water with big boulders sitting at the bottom of the river, and best of all since it's the Siskiyous and it's in the middle of nowhere, we didn't see anyhone else all day! Never mind that it's 90 degrees out and this is one of the sweetest rivers anywhere! If you have a brain in your head and you want a sweet taste of real summer, drop whatever you're doing right now, get in your car and start driving to this river - just look for the Salmon river turnoff at Somes Bar on highway 96 west of Yreka, and drive 16 miles to the sign for "Bloomer Falls River Access"
Don't change a thing Sandy Bar Ranch - I love everything about you, and we'll be back again soon!
Posted by Hall in Fun Places to go - camping, cozy cabins etc ...
Comments
Sounds absolutely beautiful. I hope nobody takes your advise and goes - except me!!
Posted by: Rob at July 25, 2009 8:21 AM
